All It Takes: Lucaya Edition
by parkersharthook
Summary: Twelve weeks, that's all it takes. [twelve week challenge I suck at summaries] Rated T for suggestive themes and language
1. Meeting the contestants

**Okay so this story was inspired by another story that followed the twelve week thing below. I will not be doing the same thing as they did (mostly) and I did not create this twelve week assignment/challenge idea. The original story is Twelve Weeks by solicitors.**

* * *

Objective: Try something new and do it with something new?

RULES:

Cannot be someone you know well (you can be acquainted)

Must be with a member of the preferred sex

Don't get creepy, keep it cool

TIME: Complete one task per week, you have twelve weeks to complete everything. But you don't have to go in order.

TASK LIST:

Hike somewhere neither of you have hiked

Listen to an entire album by an artist neither of you have heard of

GUYS CHOICE! It's his night to choose what you will do

GIRLS CHOICE! It's her night to choose what you will do

Each of you will choose one game and one movie (can be completed over a multitude of days)

Play twenty questions. Don't be afraid to get opinionated and no questions are off limits

Get creative and do something with color (maybe a paint war?)

Hang out with their friends while they hang out with yours

Get out of your comfort zone and do something weird

Have your friends come up with a list of 10 things to do and take pictures, must do everything they ask

Try something that neither of you have done before

Invite both groups of friends to a bonfire (must be last!)

Good luck and get ready!

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Chapter 1: Meeting the contestants

~Saturday night~

Riley sat with her back against her wall and her legs stretched on her bed. Maya was laying perpendicular to her with her head snuggled in Riley's lap. Riley's eyes were glued to her phone and her thumb occasionally swiped against the screen. Suddenly her body shot upright and Maya jolted away.

"Riley? What's wrong?" Maya asked, still surprised by the sudden awakening.

"Look what I found!" She twisted her phone so Maya could see. Maya's eyes scanned the screen before turning to look at Riley.

"So?" Maya laid back down, stretching her legs out. But Riley moved off the bed causing Maya to groan.

"So… this will be great for us. I'm getting over Charlie and you're getting over…" Riley let the sentence hang in the air and Maya eyed her.

"You can say his name." Maya said, "It won't kill me."

"Well, you're still getting over Josh. This could be good for us." Riley began moving around her room aimlessly, "We could get out of the house, meet new people, and maybe find some new boyfraannds." Riley drawled out the last word while raising her eyebrows causing Maya to laugh.

"Sorry honey, says we have to do it with someone we are acquainted with. I know everything about you and you know {almost} everything about me." Riley sat back down with a huff.

"I know that Maya! This would be something that we do with guys but we kind of do it together for moral support."

"Riley, not to burst your happy giggly bubble but… no." Riley whined and threw herself over Maya, "Riley!"

"Come on Maya! Let's meet some new people!" Riley dramatically rolled so she was laying on her back but still on Maya.

"You're crushing me." Maya wheezed out. Riley gave her little relief.

"I'm not moving until you say yes to this."

"Riley!"

"Maya!" Riley mocked.

"Fine! Fine. I'll do it." Riley got up and Maya quickly scrambled to her feet. "But…" Riley slumped at her words, "I get to choose the guy for you."

"Then I get to choose yours!" Riley was getting all excited again and Maya knew there weren't many ways out of this.

"But we have to not set each other up with complete dicks." Maya said with a warning tone

"I would never!" Riley said throwing a hand over her heart but a large smile ever present. "So we are doing this?" Maya just shrugged and was suddenly tackled onto Riley's bed by no other than the flying princess herself.

~Monday at school, Maya's choice~

Maya slung her backpack over her shoulder before shutting her locker. She turned down the corner and made the journey to her AP Marine Biology class. She opened the door to the already full class a few seconds before the bell rang.

"Cutting it close are we Ms. Hart?" The older woman said, lowering her glasses in an almost judgey manner. Maya just pretended to tip a hat at the lady before walking to her lab table. She pulled herself onto the tall stool and dropped her bag onto her table. Her partner glanced at her once before turning back to his notes. Her partner was a tall but lean boy, that was quite handsome if she admitted, but she rarely talked to him. They exchanged names at the beginning of the semester and quickly fell into the mutual understanding that Maya would be doing the bare minimum, she was a second semester senior after all. Maya dropped her chin onto her arms as soon as the teacher made it to the front of the room. She asked question after question and went through slide after slide.

"Does anyone know what this is called?" Maya's eyes were barely open but she knew that his hand was raised. "Yes, Farkle?"

"It's the halocline." The teacher hummed in agreement and moved onto the next slide. She asked another question which he answered once again. Maya was on the verge of falling into a deep sleep when the teacher called her name.

"Maya." Maya's eyes opened lazily and she looked at the teacher, "Enjoying your nap?" Maya smiled at her and nodded. "How about this, if you can answer this question correctly you won't have detention."

"Go for it but I suggest you go ahead and get the pink slip." Maya knew her fate and truly didn't not care.

"It's not like you to give up Ms. Hart. Can you tell me the major cyclonic surface current system in our oceans?" The teacher crossed her arms. Maya obviously leaned towards Farkle's notes and scanned them quickly.

"Dang Farkle, you didn't write it down. Come on, you gotta help me out man." Farkle just gave her a glance before turning away. "Nope. No idea." The teacher just shook her head and pulled a pad of pink notes out of her desk drawer. She scribbled down some words before ripping it off and handing it to Maya. Maya just nodded and shoved the note into her pocket before dropping her chin onto her forearms once again. The class seemed to drag on for hours until the bell rang.

"See you tomorrow Mrs. Mitchell!" Maya called behind her as she left the classroom. While she hated English she was glad it was next because Riley was in her class. They always sat in the back and chatted, both of them naturally good at English. But today something was different. They were discussing a book they were supposed to be reading and Riley wanted to participate in the class discussion. She sat facing the teacher and had her book and notes out the entire time. Her hand was almost always in the air and she knew the answer to every question. _Great I thought I had escaped the Farkle._ Maya thought as she watched her best friend act like the genius she shared her last class with. Then it clicked, Farkle. Maya's eyes widened in realization because she knew exactly how to get to him.

"Maya?" Maya's eyes snapped towards the teacher, "How does the fact that Edna is not a Creole affect her relationship with others on Grand Isle?" Maya once again looked at the paper of the person next to her but Riley had her back, just like she always did. She rotated her paper slightly and read off the answer verbatim.

"Umm… She has a feeling of being excluded from the group around her because she is a white, Presbyterian woman. They do not disclose many stories to her pertaining to gender and sexuality. They actif it isn't polite to invade her like that." Maya looked up to her teacher who was frowning.

"Good answer, Riley." She said sarcastically causing Maya to roll her eyes. "Moving on…" Maya slumped back in her chair and zoned out once again. The bell rang and Maya once again trudged out of the room. Throughout the day, Maya was the same in every class. Uninterested. It wasn't until her statistics class that she finally perked up. She sat in the back, per usual, but next her "friend" Zay. He walked in laughing along with some of his friends before sitting next to her.

"Hey Zay." Maya said gaining his attention, "You're friends with that kid Farkle, right?" Zay nodded and turned his body towards her, "Can I ask you a question about him?"

"Say no more, you're interested in him." Maya's mouth dropped, "No don't worry, I'll put in a good word Hart."

"No, no, no, no. I think my friend would be a perfect match for him, it's this thing we're doing. I don't need to go into details but I was curious if he had a girlfriend."

"Nope."

"So no one that would get jealous or mad at him if he spent a lot of time with a girl?" Maya lowered her voice to a whisper as the teacher began his lesson.

"What is this thing that y'all are doing?" Zay asked, very curious with the blonde girl in front of himMaya sighed and went on to explain the whole thing to him. Zay nodded along with her explanation.

"Now, while I don't think this an awful idea I don't want my boy to get hurt." Zay asked as the protective friend he was.

"And I don't want my girl to get hurt. This isn't a way for them to hook up and never see each other again, this is just a way to meet new people. They don't have to get together at all, it can be completely platonic. It's their feelings." Maya reasoned.

"Okay, this might actually be good for Farkle also because he did just break up with his girlfriend. I'll make sure I put in a good word with him. What do you need from me?"

"Can I get his number?" Zay nodded and scribbled down the phone number on a corner of his notebook paper before slowly ripping it off and giving it to her.

"Thanks." Maya turned her attention to the front of the room to see her teacher standing in front of her. She blushed heavily.

"Ms. Hart? Mr. Babineaux?" Mr. Howard said accusingly, "Am I interrupting your conversation?"

"No sir." Zay answered for the both of them. The teacher unfolded his arms, producing two pink slips and handing one to each of them. They both reluctantly took the paper from his hand and slumped back in their seats.

At the end of the day before Maya was supposed to head to detention she waited in a hallway for either Riley or Farkle to appear but Riley showed first.

"Hey peaches ready to go?"

"Sorry, no can do honey. I have detention." Riley slumped.

"Mayaaaa." She whined out, Maya shrugged in response. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow if not tonight." Riley walked past her friend and out the door of the school. Farkle walked up to his locker next. Maya took a deep breath and walked up to her Bio partner.

"Hey Farkle." She said casually. Farkle was surprised to see her here talking to him.

"What do you need Maya?" Farkle new why these types of people talked to him, for help with studying or other school related things.

"Okay look, you and me have the highest grade in AP marine bio right now but I'm having a hard time understanding this lesson and I was wondering if you could help me?" Maya was rolling from her heels to her toes with her hands holding her backpack straps. It was a complete and total lie, not the best approach but it was all Maya knew.

" _You_ and me have the highest grade? What's your grade?" his tone was condescending and it offended her. Maya stopped her movement, crossed her arms and cocked her hip out. Farkle could tell she was upset by his words, "Okay that's not what I meant. It just seems like you don't ever try or even stay awake during class." Okay that was fair.

"I have a 95 in that class." Farkle's mouth fell open at her confession.

"A 95? I have a 94!" Maya smirked a little bit and she shrugged.

"I'm good at science, ever since middle school." Maya repositioned her body so her posture was more welcoming, "But I'm struggling with this unit." Lie. "And I was hoping we could study together." Lie.

"Yeah sure. The unit test is on Monday so how about some time after school on Friday?" Maya nodded and pulled a sticky note from her backpack. She scribbled down her number and handed it to him.

"I'll let you know what times for me because I won't know until that day if I get detention." Farkle chuckled slightly and took the note, folding it neatly and placing it in his pocket.

"Okay. You have detention now?" At this point the conversation was strained and Farkle was basically begging to be let out of it.

"Yeah and I better get going." Maya lifted a hand in goodbye before turning and heading down the hall. She opened the door to a nearby classroom and took the desk right in front of the teacher's which was now occupied by the principal of the school.

"You." He pointed a finger at her threateningly, "You are the reason that I'm here right now." The two boys in the back, Zay and his friend, were scared for the girl, knowing that their principal was stern when he needed to be.

"Cool it Mathews." Maya said in a very casual tone leaving the other boys in shock, "Riley said there's a pie waiting at home for us." He smiled largely making their mouths drop.

"A pie? What kind?" Maya shrugged at him and threw her legs onto the desk. "You coming over for dinner?"

"I need to eat somehow." Maya said with a smile and he leveled her with a sympathetic look, "Can you let Pangers know."

"She probably already does." Maya chuckled at his response and remained silent as he turned to the boys in the back, "Isaiah Babineaux and Lucas Friar." Maya's eyebrow quirked up at the second name. She turned slightly to him. "You know the rules, front row." The boys grabbed their stuff and plopped down on either side of Maya.

"Maya, I blame you." Zay said jokingly to her. She snorted in laughter.

"Okay guys I have to be somewhat strict in detention. First punishment, tell us why you're here." Everyone groaned, "Zay, you go first."

"Fine. I was talking to Maya in Math and the teacher gave us a detention." Cory turned to Maya who smiled widely at him and gave him a thumbs up.

"That's weird Maya because I have that you fell asleep in Marine Bio." Maya's smiled didn't falter, "Two detention slips… in one day? Maya. You do know that means you have to come back here tomorrow right?"

"See, I don't see it that way. I see it as I learned my lesson twice as hard by just coming in today which means I don't have to tomorrow." Cory just shook his head.

"Do you have a good reason not to come tomorrow? A sport? Art gallery or competition? Something? Because if you don't then I can't give him an excuse."

"Aww Mathews, you give me too much credit. You know that I don't do anything." Cory shook his head at the girl as he leaned against his desk and turned his head towards Lucas.

"Mr. Friar?" Lucas picked his head up.

"Uhh… a kid was picking on my sister so I pushed him against the locker and he went and told on me."

"Would you look at that, a classic Texan hero." Maya said, smiling at him. He avoided her gaze and turned back to his homework.

"Violence isn't the answer Lucas." Cory chided him as if he was a little kid. He just shrugged without looking up, obviously not listening.

"Haha, I like him." Maya jutted her thumb towards Lucas causing him to glance at her.

"Okay guys just work on your homework, we get out of here at five."

"Five!?" Zay said shocked, "That's in two hours!"

"You think I want to be here?" Cory sat with a flat tone. "Just work." He walked around the desk and sat in the large chair, pulling out a stack of paperwork. Lucas was working on his homework, Zay went to sleep, and Maya sat there twiddling her thumbs and daydreaming but then she realized, this could be a useful time to work on her ongoing project. She pulled out her laptop and opened the word document.

 _She stepped into the large crowded ballroom, feeling out of place. Her blonde curls bounced with every step as she tucked a stray piece behind her perfectly sculpted ear. Her fingertips brushed against the diamond stud she received from him. Him, the one her striking azure eyes search for. Her hand continued its path brushing against her jawline, lightly passing over her ruby lips and then continuing down until it joined her other hand on her black clutch. She pressed her clutch to her body that was clad in a long black gown that flowed against the ground. The long tight sleeves hugged her arms and the deep v neckline showed off her body in a very classy way. But the one thing that grabbed almost everyone's attention was the high slit that ran up her leg. Her long shapely leg protruded the dress and were highlighted by the strappy heels that adorned her feet. Her simple elegance was breathtaking and when his forest green eyes met hers from across the room he was rendered speechless. His fingers fiddled with the cuff of his jacket, his eyes never leaving hers. He strolled across the ballroom floor, weaving between the dancing couples. She walked towards him at the same time and they met in the middle. His large calloused took her small one and immediately they fell into a waltz. Her hand was positioned over shoulder, still clutching her purse and the other one was delicately place in his hand. He carefully grasped her waist and spun her gracefully across the floor. She felt as if she was in an entirely different world and he was the only other one with her. They practically floated and it was completely effortless._

" _Just like you dreamed?" He had an accent, but the origin was unknown_

" _Everything and more." Her voice was smooth and he smiled at her, content._

Her fingers glided from key to key, quickly tapping them. The paragraph was hard for her to produce, struggling to elevate the adjectives and verbs as much as possible. She wanted to sound sophisticated, she really did but as an immature person it was hard. The clicking of the keys was the only noise that filled the classroom.

"Hey Maya, ease up on the typing it's driving me crazy." Zay said as politely as possible

"Can't, having a creative break." Zay groaned and laid his head back down.

"What are you typing anyways?" Zay's head was towards her but his eyes were closed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Maya snipped back easily. Zay smirked at her and tried to fall back asleep. Her typing continued for a good portion of the detention until she sighed and put her computer away. "Mathews, there is like half an hour left. Can't we leave because of good behavior?"

Cory's eyes lifted above the edge of his book to look at her, "You've been using electronics, Zay has been sleeping, and you guys were just talking and you want to be let out for good behavior?" Maya shrugged and nodded, "Okay yeah sure." Maya was shocked that he agreed but didn't fight it. She slung her backpack onto her back and strolled out of the room while the other packed their stuff. She stopped by her locker to grab a few textbooks and Lucas caught her.

"I caught a glimpse of what you were writing, it was really good." He said sweetly. Maya knew she was supposed to swoon at his words and his thick southern accent but she didn't. Instead, she tipped a pretend hat his way.

"Thanks cowboy even though I don't typically appreciate those who read over my shoulder." She said, feigning a southern accent. He tried to suppress a laugh but failed and continued on his way. Maya didn't stare at him as he left like others girls did. Sure he was very handsome, charming, tall, muscular, and southern but Maya kept her composure. She shut her locker and turned on her heel and headed out. She pulled her old phone out of her pocket and texted Riley.

Maya: I'm gonna run by my house to see if I can catch my mom, then I'll be over for dinner

Riley: Sounds good! Hope you see her

Maya: yeah… me too

Maya pocketed her phone and went on her way, nervous the whole trip.

~Tuesday at school, Riley's choice~

Riley bounded up the steps as per usual with Maya in tow. Her brown hair swayed with every step and a large smile was present. She stopped at her locker and removed her textbooks from her bag and put them in her locker. Maya walked up next to her and leaned against the lockers, exhaustion ever present on her face.

"You should've slept over last night." Riley said sympathetically

"I know. But I was hoping I would see her because she didn't have a shift." Maya's shoulders slumped and Riley frowned. "Oh well. I'll see her at some point."

"How's the apartment looking?" Maya just shrugged and stared at her feet. "I gotta go to Psychology, I'll see you next period in English." Riley began to walk away but turned back, "Oh and sorry about yesterday during English, I'm just really enjoying this book." Maya smiled at her friend and waved her along. Riley turned and skipped down the hallway. She rounded a wall of lockers and casually walked into her psychology class. She sat down in her assigned seat that was placed in the middle of the classroom, she watched her fellow seniors file into the class and take their seats.

"Okay class." Mr. Williams started, "We are starting our semester two project which will be with partners. First I'm gonna read off the partners, which will be boy-girl, and then I'll explain the project. Our partners are Derek and Allison, Darby and Brandon, Logan and Jaqueline, Sarah and Will, Riley and Lucas, Sam and Kelly, and finally Yogi and Natalie." Riley looked up and made brief eye contact with Lucas before looking back down at her notebook. "You don't need to pair up until after I explain everything. This will be a project that we expand over the entire semester but it will not necessarily be worked on every week. The first part of the project is you will choose a common psychology project such as the ink blot test or if gum helps you remember things. But the catch is that you have to elevate it to our level." The teacher handed out the rubrics for the first part.

"You will need to take this common project and take it up a notch but in your own creative way. And if your basis project was interactive you need at least ten volunteers but if it wasn't you need to make it interactive." Riley's eyes scanned the paper and widened, this was a large project. The teacher continued on with the project requirements before she let the partners meet with each other. Riley moved her stuff and sat in front of Lucas before turning her body to face him.

"So where should we start?" Riley asked, finally glancing up from her paper. Lucas's eyes were studying hers and Riley felt blush creep onto her skin.

"Um… maybe we should both do our own research on a starting project that can we can use and elevate." Riley nodded and jotted down a few notes.

"Oh class one more thing, your finalized basic project idea will be due on Monday when you get to class so plenty of time for you to meet with your partners and do research. This isn't any written thing, one of you just needs to email me saying that you and your partner will be using so-and-so project for our basis." The kids all turned back to their partners and the talking picked up again.

"So how about we do our separate research throughout the week and then meet on Friday and decide?" Riley suggested and Lucas nodded in agreement. Riley ripped out a corner of her notebook paper and jotted down her number before handing it to Lucas. "Let me know what times work for you and we should meet at the café Topanga's." The bell rang and Riley stood up to pack her bag.

"Hey Riley, you're friends with Maya. Maya Hart, right?" Lucas asked carefully.

"Yeah. You know her?"

"I know _of_ her. We had detention together yesterday and again today so…" Lucas shrugged but Riley frowned.

"She has detention again? Okay, I'll see you Lucas." Riley swiftly turned on her heel and walked into the hall without another word to Lucas, searching for her best friend. Maya came out of her classroom talking to some kid she kind of recognized before quickly meeting Riley's eyes. Riley rushed to her, "you have detention again?"

"Yeah, I got two yesterday so I have to pay my service again today. Unless," Maya smiled largely and Riley instantly knew she was gonna ask for a favor, "You can work your magic on your dad? Win him over? Get me out of it?"

"Maya I can't anymore. I did that a lot last semester!" Riley whined, "I'm going to get in trouble."

"Okay, okay. I don't want you to get in trouble as well." They both started walking to English, "How did you find out anyways?"

"Um… you know the kid Lucas Friar?"

"Lucas Friar?"

"Yeah. He's tall, tan, muscular, green eyes, Texan, handsome, did I say tall?" Riley gushed causing Maya to laugh.

"I know who he is, I don't need a biography. What about him?"

"Oh he just asked about you." Maya stopped at her words.

"He asked about me? Why?"

"I don't know. He just asked if I knew you and then told me you had detention yesterday and again today." Maya thought about it and then just shrugged.

"Oh well." Maya continued on to her English class, care free.

"Aren't you curious?" Riley pried as they took their seats.

"Not really." Maya shrugged. Riley wanted to continue but their teacher began the lesson and she, being a good student, shut her mouth.

After class as they parted ways Riley turned a corner quickly and bumped into a guy, literally ran into him. She backed up a few paces.

"Oh sorry about that." She apologized quickly picking up the notebook he dropped. She met his gaze and recognized it as Zay Babineaux (he was friends with everyone). "Oh hey Zay. Here." She handed over the notebook with a smile.

"Hey there Sugar. How's it going?"

"Fine I guess." Riley was about to say her goodbyes when she remembered the whole twelve week thing. "Hey Zay, you're friends with Lucas Friar right?"

"Yeah. What do you need?"

"Me and my friend, Maya, are doing this thing over the course of twelve weeks and I was—"

"You were wondering if Lucas would do it with Maya." Zay finished, remembering the conversation he had with the blonde the day before.

Riley frowned slightly, "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Maya talked to me about it yesterday."

"About Lucas?"

"No, about another friend of mine." His smile grew, "She chose someone for you."

"Who?" Riley said quickly

"I don't think I should say yet. Anyways what can I do for you?"

"I don't know. Maybe casually slip Maya into some of your conversations with him?"

"Easy. Done." Zay smiled at the brunette, "And I'll put your name in there too with the other guy."

Riley blushed, "Thanks?" A bell rang, "Well, I have to go but I'll see you around."

"Yes you will." Zay said slowly his own plan forming in his head.

~Thursday afternoon, Zay's intervention~

"What is popping, my boys?" Zay greeted his friends as he entered Lucas's room.

"Not much, just finishing up homework. How about you?"

"Nothing at all. Farkle?" Farkle lifted his head from his laptop screen and just shared a tight smile. "Still at this?"

"Yep." Lucas sighed, "Buddy, you need to get off your computer and do something. Talk to us."

"I'll have you know…" Farkle spun around in the chair, "I am meeting a girl on Friday."

"What?" Lucas said in disbelief

"Who?" Zay said at the same time

"Her name is Maya Hart, and she asked me to help her study for marine bio." Farkle grinned proudly.

"Doesn't count." Lucas said, leaning against his wall.

Farkle's face fell, "Why not?"

"Because you are helping her with school. I might say she was coming onto you if it was anyone else other than Maya Hart." Lucas laughed.

"What about Maya Hart makes it so unbelievable that she would want to get with this?" Farkle gestured to his body

"Well for one, she is _the_ rebel of high school. No offense, but she doesn't go for guys like you. She goes for other rebels. Plus, she will do crazy things for her friends. Also, Maya Hart isn't one for subtle flirting. If she wanted you, you would know. Plus, Maya Hart and studying for school. No way." Zay raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"How do you know so much about her?" Zay said with a smile growing on his face.

"I know about everything in our grade." Lucas replied with a shrug.

Zay knew if he played this right then he could get this thing moving, "What about Riley Mathews?"

"Riley Mathews?" Lucas hummed lightly, "She is a goody two shoes, best friends with Maya Hart. Her dad is the principal and she is just super bubbly and upbeat. But I hear she is super smart which is good because she's my partner for our psychology project."

"Huh? So Lucas is meeting with a smart lovable girl on Friday and Farkle is meeting with a rebel detention living girl who would do anything for her friends? This seems a little backwards to me." Zay said with a large smile causing both of his friends to raise an eyebrow at him.

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing to be worried about. Lucas I want you to meet with Riley at Topanga's on Friday at 5 and Farkle I want you to meet with Maya at Topanga's on Friday at 5:30."

"Why?" Farkle asked cautiously

"Because I am going to work my magic." The boys groaned at Zay but will eventually just listen to instruction. I mean, they both texted the girls the plans at the same (which resulted in the girls conspiring if they were together when they did this).

~Friday, the game begins~

Riley sat at a booth, scanning her psychology textbook. Lucas slid in across from her. "Hey."

"Hey. Do you have any ideas about what you want to do for our basis project?"

"A few, but I don't really care so if there is one you really want to do…" Lucas shrugged. Riley smiled at him and proceeded to go through her list of ideas she thought would be either fun, easy, or interesting to do. Lucas wanted easy. So after about twenty-five minutes of discussion and planning the two had their basis project all planned out. Riley was satisfied. She gathered her stuff and was about to leave when Zay came rushing into the café.

"Don't go anywhere." He instructed her.

"Why not?"

"Cause I have a plan." He left the girl, who was extremely confused, in his dust as he rushed back out of the shop. Riley looked to Lucas who just shrugged.

"Do you want a smoothie?" Lucas asked politely

"No, I'm okay but thanks for asking." Lucas nodded and got up and headed towards the line to get one. Maya walked in a few minutes later, finding Riley instantly.

"Hey riles." Riley eyed her outfit, and shook her head. "What?"

"You look like a criminal." Riley stated bluntly which just caused Maya to smile and laugh.

"Thanks. How did the whole psychology project with Ranger Rick go?" Lucas decided to make his presence known at that moment as he sat back down.

"Ranger Rick?" Riley blushed at her friend's words.

"Yeah, you know… Texan hero type thing. Ranger Rick." Maya casually explained. Zay came rushing in.

"I'm happy you're here." He said breathlessly.

"Thanks?" Maya said confused.

"Where's Farkle?"

"I don't know." Both Maya and Lucas responded before eyeing each other lightly.

"Aww, that was cute." Zay said causing Maya to snort in laughter, "Ah, here he is." He guided Farkle to the booth and sat him down next to Lucas before pushing Maya next to Riley. He grabbed a chair for himself and put himself at the end of the table.

It was silent before Zay sighed, "go on…."

"Zay, is there some information you would like to share with us?" Lucas grumbled annoyed.

"Fine because I have to do everything around here. Riley chose Lucas for Maya and Maya chose Farkle for Riley."

Riley's eyes widened and Maya laughed loudly. "Ranger Rick? You chose Ranger Rick. That is hilarious."

Lucas glared at her, "Picked us? Picked us for what?"

Zay looked to the girls and Maya took over, "Riley found this thing online where you partner up with someone of the opposite sex and do these challenges over the course of twelve weeks. Riley is making me do it with her and our deal was that I choose the boy she does it with and she chooses the boy I do it with."

"What if we don't want to do it?" Farkle said making everyone look at him. He flustered, "I mean I don't think I care I just need more details but like what if one of the guys just—"

"Farkle, stop talking." Lucas groaned, "Okay what are the challenges?" Zay pulled a sheet of paper from his bag and handed it to him. "Hike somewhere neither of you have hiked?"

"That's the first one." Riley explained, "So we have to complete that one in a week and then do the next one and then so on."

"Okay… so I'd be doing it with Maya?" Lucas asked.

"Yep. Got a problem with that hopalong?"

"If you keep calling me these names then yeah maybe." Lucas retorted quickly.

"Well get over it because you guys are gonna be partners." Zay said with a tone that they knew they were stuck.

"Fine." Lucas consented.

"Wait. Me and Riley are doing this together?" Farkle asked.

"Yep. I mean, if you want to."

All eyes were on Farkle, "I mean yeah I guess…."

"Okay then it is settled. Exchange numbers and schedules and ideas." Zay patted the table and stood up, "I will leave you be. The first week officially starts on Monday and you have until the Sunday. Have fun!" Zay left the café without a single word. The four sat there in an awkward silence.

"Sooo…." Farkle started, "did you even need my help with bio?'

"Not at all I was just gonna about this challenge thing but I actually didn't know they would be here." Maya motioned to Riley and Lucas. Farkle just nodded. It was awkward.

"Okay then, well I'm gonna go." Lucas said as he stood up.

"Wait!" Riley shouted stopping Lucas, "Okay look I know this is awkward but I just broke up with my boyfriend and I could use a new friend. I think Maya could too. I don't know about you guys but I think this could be good for all of us. So, sit down and talk."

Riley wasn't a scary or intimidating person but Lucas still sat down, not wanting to anger her. "Okay. So Maya, could I get your phone number?"

Maya grinned, "sure thing huckleberry. Hand over your phone." Lucas mumbled to himself while fishing his phone out of his pocket and giving it to her. She quickly entered her phone number and gave it back to him. At the same time Riley was entering her number into Farkle's phone.

"Okay, now what do we do?"

"Whatever we want. We could plan or just talk." Riley suggested. Maya was about to agree but her phone suddenly went off. She excused herself from the booth and answered the call.

"Yes this is she. Oh my god is she okay. Okay, I'm on my way." Riley caught some of the conversation and looked to Maya as she returned. "So my mom is in the hospital so I gotta go."

Everyone was concerned, "Is she okay?" It was Lucas who spoke up and while he was just trying to be polite Maya wasn't ready to share her life story.

"I don't know but I'll find out." She turned to Riley as she gathered her stuff, "I don't think I'll make it to dinner but I'll text you." Maya rushed out of the café while shrugging on her leather jacket.

Riley turned to Lucas, "That is my best friend and if you hurt, I will hurt you. She may act tough but things but that's only because life dealt her a really shitty hand. She may act like a rebel with her ripped jeans and short shirts and leather jackets. But I swear to god Lucas, you do anything to her that isn't acceptable, I will hunt you down."

The threat reached the boy because all he could do was swallow and nod. What had he just got into?

* * *

 **Okay so this particular will only be about Lucaya and I will post a companion piece that follows Riarkle but it might take a while. This first chapter took me a long time because it was hard to include all aspects but hopefully the rest comes naturally.**


	2. Week One: What A Hike

Objective: Try something new and do it with something new?

RULES:

-Cannot be someone you know well (you can be acquainted)

-Must be with a member of the preferred sex

-Don't get creepy, keep it cool

TIME: Complete one task per week, you have twelve weeks to complete everything. But you don't have to go in order.

TASK LIST: (bold is what they are doing)

 **1) Hike somewhere neither of you have hiked**

2) Listen to an entire album by an artist neither of you have heard of

3) GUYS CHOICE! It's his night to choose what you will do

4) GIRLS CHOICE! It's her night to choose what you will do

5) Each of you will choose one game and one movie (can be completed over a multitude of days)

6) Play twenty questions. Don't be afraid to get opinionated and no questions are off limits

7) Get creative and do something with color (maybe a paint war?)

8) Hang out with their friends while they hang out with yours

9) Get out of your comfort zone and do something weird

10) Have your friends come up with a list of 10 things to do and take pictures, must do everything they ask

11) Try something that neither of you have done before

12) Invite both groups of friends to a bonfire (must be last!)

Good luck and get ready!

* * *

Chapter 2: Week One: What a Hike

February 27 – March 5

~Maya's POV~

Maya groaned as she adjusted her position in the uncomfortable chair. She eventually just gave up on sleep and sat up, stretching her back muscles. Her arms rose over her head, her shirt exposing a sliver of her stomach. Her blonde curls fell around her face and she blew them away from her eyes. As the hair moved from her line of vision, she trained her gaze on her unconscious mother. Tubes were connected to what seemed like everywhere. It was a hard sight to see so Maya quickly averted her gaze. She instead stood up, grabbed her bag and walked to the nearest bathroom. She changed into what she described at comfy clothes but to anyone else it would like she was going to a punk rock concert. She walked back to the room and picked up her school bag. She sighed once, blinked twice, tapped her foot three times before quickly turning on her heel and leaving the hospital room. She briskly walked to the cafeteria. Doctors were scattered throughout the room, talking quietly. It was early, really early so very few other family members were there. She felt out of place. She noticed the well-groomed doctors all in neat scrubs. Maya stood there with wild untamable hair in ripped jeans and a paint splattered tshirt. She just ducked her head and made her way to the coffee cart. She ordered whatever had the most caffeine and walked straight out the doors of the awful hospital. She expertly tied her hair into a messy bun and boarded the train that took her back to her house. Her "house". She entered her house twenty minutes later. She didn't want to stay there for long, just quickly brushing her teeth and hair before grabbing her nice leather jacket (the only one she took care of).

"Fuck my life." Maya grumbled over and over to herself. She drank the last drop of the milk that was in the carton before throwing it away. She gave herself a once over in her mirror and deemed herself good enough. It had been four days since the awful phone call and still no response from her mom. It was Tuesday morning (more like 5am) and Maya found herself walking around central park with nothing to do. She wanted to sit and draw but she conveniently left her artist pencils at home and she couldn't waste anymore subway fares. She plopped down on a nearby wooden bench and just stared out at the lake. She literally had hours to waste and nothing to do. She settled on drawing on the sidewalk with brown mulch that left choppy streaks.

"That's really good." A voice came from behind her. Maya dropped the piece of mulch that was barely there anymore in fright. She spun around and calmed down once she saw who the voice belonged to, "Did I scare you?" He chuckled.

"Yeah you did. Wasn't expecting anyone." Maya threw the piece back in the bushes and got another one. She was drawing a hyper-realistic picture of Riley, well as realistic as you could get with a piece of the ground.

"What are you doing here this early?" He crossed his arms and looked at her. Not in a mean way but more of a concerning tone.

"I could ask you the same question." She retorted.

"Yeah but I actually have an excuse. I'm jogging." She glanced at him and noticed the gym shorts and running shoes. She also noticed his shirt, well the lack thereof a shirt. Sweat rolled down his body and Maya had to tears her eyes away from him.

She moved from a squatting position to a standing one so she was somewhat on his level, "Couldn't sleep, thought I would make my way to school."

"You couldn't sleep so you came to central Park to draw on the sidewalk with some dirt?" She bit her lip and nodded, "yeah okay."

That surprised her, "yeah okay."

"Do you want some breakfast?"

"What?" That also surprised her.

"My apartment isn't too far from here and we still have a while until school so do you want some breakfast. That hospital food probably isn't too good."

"Hospital food? Why would I be eating hospital food?" Maya sputtered out quickly, defensively.

"Your mom is in the hospital." He offered a sympathetic look.

"Right… you already knew about that." She looked up to his eyes and shrugged, "Sure I'll take some food." He gestured to her stuff and she picked it up, following him down the sidewalk and forgetting her masterpiece.

"Any news on how she is doing?" Maya shook her head, refusing to elaborate on the answer. Lucas nodded in understanding that she didn't want to talk about it. They walked about two blocks, in complete silence, until they got to Lucas's apartment. He held the lobby door open for her and then again his own apartment door.

"What a gentleman." Maya teased lightly

"I've got that southern charm, remember?" Maya chuckled and nodded at his response. She eyed the nice apartment, it was much better than hers.

"Are your parents here?"

"My mom worked the overnight shift at the hospital last night and my dad is on a business trip." He walked into the kitchen, "What would you like?"

"Anything is fine." She wasn't picky, she was just hungry.

"Cereal?" Maya shrugged and offered a light nod, "Cheerios?"

"Yeah, that's fine." He placed the yellow box of Honey Nut Cheerios in front of her along with a bowl and a carton of milk. Maya poured herself the bowl of cereal and silently ate while Lucas made a smoothie for himself. "You have a nice apartment."

"Thanks although it's basically the same as every New York apartment." Maya scoffed.

"I guess you haven't seen much of New York then?"

"What do you mean?" _shit_.

"Well, actually very few apartments look like this. Sure, the ones in this building do or maybe the other ones in Greenwich Village. Every bureau has the nice apartments but it's the worn down neighborhoods that have the true New York heritage and culture."

"Born and raised here?"

"Yeah, down in the Bronx." She admitted, though she didn't say where

"That's cool. I moved here freshman year. Guess, my mom wanted me to be in a safe neighborhood."

"Well this is that." Maya sighed, "Which hospital does your mom work at?"

"Lenox Health? Heard of it."

Maya sucked in a breath, "Yep. Their coffee isn't too good though."

"Oh." His eyes widened, "Ohhh."

"Yeah." She bit her lip, "What does she do?"

"She's a general surgeon."

"That's cool." Lucas just lightly hummed agreement. They fell into an awkward silence once again.

"So about this twelve week thing."

"Oh yeah…" Maya mumbled.

"I have football or baseball practice every day after school. Our games for this season start in 3 weeks though so until then my weekends are free."

"Okay well I don't do much, except sometimes stay after school to work on art or picked up a shift here or there. I might have to do a little extra because of the whole hospital thing."

"So no weekdays at all?"

"Friday would be our best bet." Maya shrugged. "But I'm completely free over the weekends."

"Okay so why don't we plan for Saturday this week and maybe the next two. After that we'll just play it by ear."

"Sounds good. Any idea where you want to go to hike?"

He smiled, "you're the native New Yorker, you tell me."

"For your information, it needs to be somewhere that neither of us have heard of."

"Fine how about on Friday we sit down after school and talk about it?"

"Sounds good?"

"Topanga's?"

"How about Nighthawk Diner?" Maya said with a smirk, "I'll send you the address."

"Okay, sounds good. So I need to shower before school but you are welcome to hang out?" he made it sound like a question, obviously not confident in his suggestion.

"No I need to pick up Riley for school." She placed her empty bowl in the sink and picked up her backpack once again. "I'll see you around the halls?"

"Yeah you will." Maya nodded and walked out of the apartment as Lucas headed down the hall. Maya just bit her lip and tugged her backpack a little closer to her. She bounded down the steps, her date (?) on Friday not leaving her mind.

~Friday, Nighthawk Diner~

Maya sat down in a booth not that close to the front but still visible. She sketched the scenery on a napkin almost absent-mindedly. It was something she always did when she came here. Lucas showed up a few minutes later.

"How did you get here so quickly?" He asked, actually amazed.

"Well, while you contribute to the New York traffic problem I ride the subway." She smiled slightly and pushed the now pen stained napkin to the side.

"Are the milkshakes here good?" Lucas flipped through the greasy laminated menu.

"Some of the best." Maya replied smugly, "The classic chocolate is amazing."

"Okay, I'll take your word for that. You want one?"

"No, that's okay."

"Well, I want one." Maya smiled at him. As if answering his prayers a young lady clad in a blue dress adorned with a white frilly apron walked up.

"Hey Maya! Oooh, who is your new boy toy." Maya hid her face in embarrassment. "What can I get this hunk?" Lucas smirked at the waitress and then at Maya.

"Could I just have a chocolate milkshake?" Lucas purposefully strengthened his southern accent. Maya peeked through her fingers at him.

The waitress lightly hit Maya on the shoulder, "And he's southern? You hit the jackpot."

"Cynthia, we aren't dating. This is Lucas and he's my friend from school. Lucas this is Cynthia and she works here." Maya lazily introduced the two. Lucas held out a calloused hand and met Cynthia's smaller one. They shook politely before Maya shooed her away.

"Your friend is nice and cute." Maya briefly looked at Lucas before sliding the napkin back in front of her. "How do you know her?"

"This is where my mom worked, and I pick the shift up here sometimes." Lucas nodded

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I found a really nice place to hike. It's an hour away on Long Island."

"Okay, tomorrow then?"

"I actually had a different idea." Lucas smiled mischievously and Maya's stomach fluttered slightly. "I was thinking we could meet up late tonight, well technically really early, and hike to the top and then watch the sunrise."

"You want to watch the sunrise with me?"

"Yeah, why not? Figured you could draw it or something." Lucas smiled

"How charming. Don't expect me to fall in love with you or anything just because the sun makes you glow." Lucas chuckled.

"I would never expect such a thing from the Maya Hart." Lucas put a hand over his heart obnoxiously, "How about I come pick you up around 3:30?"

"In the morning?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"Yes, in the morning. I will pick you up at 3:30, drive you to Long Island and we will hike. We should get to the peak around 6 and the sunrise is at 6:30. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah sure I guess." Maya grumbled.

"Here you go hot stuff." Cynthia winked at Lucas as she handed him the milkshake, "And Maya, I will see you in a few minutes."

"What are you doing in a few minutes?" Lucas pried as he took a sip of his milkshake.

"Working. Ever heard of it?"

Lucas chuckled dryly, "Yes, I've heard of it. So how long are your shifts, you should get some sleep before I pick you up."

"Don't worry I will." She did not want to tell him how long her hours were.

"No one will mind you leaving the house at 3:30 in the morning?"

"Nope." She stole his drink and took a generous sip of it. He stole it back quickly.

"Should've ordered your own." He mocked. But she didn't appreciate, not that he would've known that. The frown was deeply embedded in her cheeks.

"Well, I need to get to work. I'll see you in a few hours." Cynthia came over with a slip of paper.

"Don't forget about your piercings, Maya. You know how Dave gets." She reminded Maya quietly but Lucas still heard.

"Piercings? How many?" Lucas smirked around his straw, his green eyes burning a whole into her blue ones. Cynthia whistled quietly before walking off.

"Don't get too excited Huckleberry, they are just in my ears." Maya pushed her blonde locks behind her right ear and reached up. Her fingers skillfully unscrewed a small silver ball and placed it gingerly on the table. She then removed a long silver bar from her helix (upper part of the ear).

"Woah. I never knew you had that." He was mesmerized.

"Yep." Her tone was bored, "it's an industrial piercing." She then removed two more black studs from her lobe. She brushed her hair back into its place and moved to the other side. This one had four piercings going up the lobe with one that connected to a cuff by a thin chain. She removed them all before putting them in the front pocket of her backpack.

"You're kind of a badass you know?" Maya snorted in laughter at him and gathered her stuff.

"I know. Stay here as long as you want but I gotta go work." Maya slid out of the booth and Lucas watched her leave, quite pleased with the sight he saw. He slowly finished his milkshake, watching Maya wait tables periodically. And then even when he finished, he just ordered another milkshake.

"You know that he's waiting for you." Cynthia whispered to Maya as they leaned against the counter top. Cynthia nudged her suggestively

"Look, we barely know each other." Cynthia didn't believe her, "I swear! That doesn't mean we won't become something." They both laughed but Maya was joking. She didn't see Lucas that way, "But right now, we aren't anything."

"Okay, whatever you say." The bell on the door rang, "Oh heads up. It's Mr. Ruth and he brought his family this time.

"Ok, I'll take this one but then we should head out." Cynthia nodded and went back into the kitchen. Maya straightened her apron and readied a new pad of paper for the incoming orders. She plastered on a fake smile and strolled over to the large family. "Hey Mr. Ruth, it's good to see you."

"Ah, Maya! It's good to see you too."

"What can I get you and your lovely family?" She tapped the paper with her pen a few time, a habit she picked up when she was dying to leave.

"Well, I will just have my usual. Madeline will have a junior breakfast platter, Jason will have the kids waffle stack, and my other daughter May will have the shortstack of pancakes."

Maya expertly jotted it all down, "And for you Mrs. Ruth?"

"Oh nothing but some coffee dear." She was an older woman, but polite, even though her narrow mind sent hateful glances towards her and the other teenagers working there often enough. Maya ripped of the pink slip of orders and passed it through a small hole in the wall to the cook before walking back to where Lucas still sat.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Just enjoying the real New York life as you put it." Maya shook her head at him.

"You don't have to wait for me. Me and Cynthia always walk home together."

"Well that's good because well…." He gestured to her body but closed his mouth.

"No, go ahead and say it."

"I was just gonna say that you're kind of like a shortstack of pancakes." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"A shortstack of pancakes? Do you know who you're talking to?" Maya barked at him

"I didn't mean it in a bad way but you barely come over five feet. I'm not saying you can't pack a punch but if a group of six guys really wanted to hurt you…. Well they probably could pretty easily."

Her lips were drawn tightly, "Appreciate your 'concern'" She used air quotations to emphasize her point, "But I'm gonna have to ask you to leave if you don't order anything."

"Fine… then I will have another milkshake." Maya groaned and placed his order before bringing the numerous plates to the table of the family. Lucas could faintly hear her mumbling 'enjoy' before stalking off. She joined him in his booth once more with his milkshake.

"Well, you get your wish because I'm leaving now."

"Want a ride?"

"Not at all. I live three subway stops away and that would be hours in your monstrous truck. It's eight and I need my sleep if you are going to pick me up at 3:30." She sauntered towards the back knowing his eyes were on her backside and Lucas followed her. "I've got it covered."

"Can I at least walk you to the subway?" He was trying to get to her, trying to see the inner Maya. Kidding! He was flirting with her, heavily.

She batted her eyelashes at him, playing the little game. "Sure, you can."

She knew that he was one of the biggest flirts in school, moving from girl to girl. Maya had other plans, aggravate the hell out of him. Maya grabbed her shit and walk to the nearest bathroom, returning now clad in her usual attire piercings and all.

"Alright let's go Ms. Hart." She grimaced at the title and just led him out the door. He was happy to walk her as far away as the subway was but Maya had just played with him, it was right in front of the diner.

"Well, I appreciate the walk!" She said overly cheerfully, "Let's go Cynthia." Cynthia, who had basically appeared out of nowhere took Maya's hand and skipped down the steps with her. Lucas watched her leave and snapped his fingers before slowly spinning around and heading to his large truck, counting down the minutes until he was gonna pick her up.

~3:15 am, Maya's apartment~

He knocked lightly, hoping to not wake the other residents. He also didn't want to break down her old rusty door. He texted her that he was here and stood patiently on the other side of the door. Maya appeared a moment later in yoga pants and a sports bra.

"Aren't you gonna be cold?"

"Relax, _mom._ I have a hoodie." Maya reached behind the door and grabbed the large sweatshirt, probably belonged to Josh at some point.

"Alright, you want to get some coffee?" Lucas suggested as he started walking down the hall.

"That's probably a good idea." Maya rubbed her eyes and tightened her pony tail before closing the door behind her. She shifted the door upward and pulled it closed violently. "Got it!" She whispered triumphantly to herself. Lucas eyed the door and then the beautiful lady to his side. "Watcha staring at sundance?"

Lucas laughed, "Nothing _shortstack_." He quipped back at her. She glared daggers at him. "Did you bring your art supplies?"

"Oh you were serious about me painting it?"

"I mean why not? It'll probably be beautiful. Thought you might want to capture it." That was… thoughtful of him. Maya hummed to herself in thought.

"My stuff is at the school so it's no big deal."

"We could run by it, not too far out of the way. Though it's probably all locked up right now." He mused as they made their way down the dusty stairwell.

"Oh that's not a problem, I just don't want to sidetrack us." Lucas's eyes widened at her almost sort of confession.

"While I don't really want to know why the school being locked isn't a problem," He sighed loudly, "Why isn't it a problem Maya?"

She snickered, "The art room is on the first floor, south side of the building, lots of windows. It's child's play." Maya sounded proud of herself. They walked out into the street, Maya instantly feeling the chilly wind nip at her exposed skin. But it was early march and the seasons were changing, so once the sun rose it wouldn't be too bad.

"Wow, okay. So I really am dealing with a criminal aren't I?" he meant it as a joke but she shrugged, "This whole breaking and entering thing happen a lot?"

"When it needs to." Her answer was vague. Lucas just shook his head and opened his car door for himself. Maya followed his lead and pulled herself into the passenger seat of the old truck. "Your truck isn't as big as I thought it would be."

"Yeah well unlike some other people, I don't need to over compensate for something." Maya nodded not really thinking about his words until they truly sunk in. She burned red and obnoxiously gagged so he wouldn't think she was interested. He just laughed.

"Just drive." Maya muttered. Lucas smiled and pulled into the streets. They did go by the school and Maya was in and out within minutes with a sketch book and colored pencils. Lucas was impressed, but he would never show that. After that they swung by a Starbucks and both got heavily caffeinated drinks before actually making their way out of the city. Maya peered out the window, quietly humming to the random music coming over the radio. She sketched sporadically throughout the drive, mostly just trees and road. But because it was Maya's, it was amazing.

"When do you start drawing?" Lucas asked. It was small talk but honestly anything beat the silence they were stuck in.

"Middle school." Her response was blunt and Lucas realized he would literally have to ask her anything he wanted to know and not expect her to go off track.

"Ok… why did you start drawing?"

"Geez, you are just full of the questions today aren't you cowboy?"

"Just trying to get to know you."

"Isn't that what the twenty questions is for?"

"But think of it this way." He began slowly, "if we get rid of all the nonsense questions now than when we do play twenty questions…" He stopped at the red light and looked directly at her, "We can get to the deep stuff." Maya's cheeks burned red hot. She shifted her gaze back to the road and played with the ends of her ponytail nervously.

"Okay fine." Maya complied, "I don't really remember why I started drawing just did, probably to just past the time. Turns out I was pretty good. Now you." She turned to him in her seat, "Where are you from?"

"I saw Austin, Texas but it's like the rural outskirts of Austin."

"Do you live on a ranch?" her smile grew as she dug deeper into his history

"I did. My family lived with my grandpa on his ranch. It was about ten minutes from the heart of Austin, which is more city-like." Maya leaned her head against the window.

"Is it nice there?"

"Beautiful." Lucas had a small smile on his face while he talked about it, "Both the country and the city aspects. The city was gorgeous at night."

Maya picked up her colored pencils, "describe it."

"Okay?" He laughed slightly, "well it's kind of like here but a lot less traffic and the buildings probably aren't as tall. At night when all the lights were on in the buildings, kind of reminded me of stars in the sky. Of course, couldn't see that many stars from the heart of the city because of light pollution. But then I'd drive back home and it slowly become darker and the sky become more dotted with stars."

Maya rose an eyebrow at him, "miss it?"

"Yeah sometimes. Had a lot of friends down there, but been here for a while now so this is a pretty close second." Maya finished sketching and turned it around for him to see. He glanced at it, but not for long because he was still driving.

"You're real funny, you know that?" Maya had drawn a cowboy on a white horse staring off into the city, with people bustling all around him.

"I like to think this is what you looked like when you first came to New York." She smiled widely.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Maya ripped out the page and dropped it on his dashboard for him to keep.

"Always live here?"

"Yep, my whole life."

"Ever get tired of it?"

Maya opened her mouth to speak but closed it to think some more, "I don't know. There's times where I wish I could travel the world but I mean it's all I've ever known. Plus, New York is awesome. There's always a new place to explore."

"You should take me sometime." She gave him a questioning look, "Exploring. You should take me exploring. You seem like someone who knows where they're going." For the last thirty minutes of the car ride, they asked each other pretty stupid and silly questions.

They discovered that Lucas preferred dogs while Maya liked cats but only because they weren't as needy. Lucas's favorite color was navy blue and Maya's was olive green. Lucas was 18 and his birthday was November 18 while Maya was still 17 and her birthday was May 8. That discovery led to Lucas teasing that, "maybe you'll have to spend your birthday with me." But so far Maya wasn't so opposed to the idea.

Finally, they pulled up to an empty dirt parking lot. There were lights illuminating the ground and one shinning on the historic nature trail sign. Lucas didn't bother to look at the trail map and just started walking. Maya pulled her hoodie over her head and followed him. Their pace was quick in the beginning, using their flashlights for light. The sky was slowly lighting up even though the sun was still beyond the horizon. The two teenagers eventually reached the peak around 6:15, right on time.

"How pretty do you think this will be?" Maya asked quietly as she sat down on a large flat rock

"Gorgeous." His answer was blunt but still meaningful. Maya nodded. The last fifteen minutes of "night" was silent between the two. It was around 6:32 that Lucas tapped Maya's shoulder causing her head to jerk up. Her eyes landed on the horizon and her mouth fell open. It truly was gorgeous. Bright orange streaks illuminated the sky, pushing the darkness away. Pinks were found here and there and directly on the horizon was the most beautiful strip of deep red you'd ever see. As the sun climbed higher, the colors got brighter and more abundant until the whole sky was now a beautiful blue. Maya was able to capture a few photos on her phone and will certainly be drawing this on the way home. They stayed up there for 45 minutes just watching and listening until Lucas got a phone call.

"Yeah sure. I'll be home in an hour or so." He hung up and turned back to Maya

"My mom wants me home as soon as possible because my father is coming home today." Maya was about to question it but she saw his clenched jaw and tightened muscles and left it alone. She nodded and stood up, brushing herself off.

"Alright. Let's go." They walked back down the trail, walking much faster because it was downhill. Arriving at Lucas's truck pretty quickly, their trip was cut down significantly. The drive back was spent in mostly spent in comfortable silence. Maya lightly sketched on her notebook, while both of them nodded along to the music coming over the radio. It was Lucas that broke the silence first, "any music in particular you would like to listen to?"

Maya just shook her head, "Not really. Anything is fine except…" She stopped talking and slowly turned her head to stare at him when he put on his music, his country music. "Except country music."

He laughed, "What?! You don't like country music?"

Maya shook her head and went back to sketching the sunrise, "Not at all. I mean why would you? It's all about the same things." She picked up a country accent, "My girl or beer or jeans or guitars or trucks. They don't have any creativity or originality."

"Minus the truck and beer and jeans, everyone song is about girls or love." Lucas stated causing Maya's mouth to fall open.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Name five songs that aren't about love."

"I can name ten songs. Fuck the police by Bone Thugs N Harmony –"

"Bone Thugs N Harmony?" Lucas interrupted her with a laugh

"You've never heard of them?" Maya was shocked, "They're fantastic. Another way to die by disturbed, monster by skillet, sing by my chemical romance, Maxwell's silver hammer by the fucking Beatles, that's not my name by the ting tings, move along by all American rejects, whiskey in the jar by Metallica, sky is the limit by notorious B.I.G, even back in black by AC/DC for god's sake."

"Impressive but—"

"And those are all by different artists with me only barely dipping my toe into the rap category."

"Okay, I get it." He smiled despite the fact he was proven wrong. "I guess I just don't really listen to those kind of songs."

"Well you should." Maya said watching the familiar buildings of her neighborhood pass by. "Thanks for the ride home."

"Yeah, no problem." Lucas slowed to a stop in front of her building. "I'll see you at school sometime."

"Yeah, later." Maya yawned loudly and exited the car door. She bounded up the old steps to her apartment 'lobby' and quickly entered. Lucas stayed for a moment before driving off back to his apartment. His phone rang. He glanced at the caller to see it was his mom and quickly answered.

"Hey mama."

"Hey Lukey. I was just wondering when you were getting home."

"I'm about twenty minutes away. When is he getting here?"

His mother sighed loudly, obviously exhausted from work. "I'm not sure but he wants you to be there and well dressed."

Lucas had to hold back a scoff, "of course. Well, I'll be home in a minute." He exchanged small goodbyes and ended the call. Hitting the wheel in frustration and letting out a shaky breath, he tried to calm himself. He really didn't want to see his father.


End file.
